India's annual headline inflation eased slightly in October to its lowest in 10 months, possibly allowing the Reserve Bank to keep rates steady in coming months even though price rises remain above its comfort level.
India's wholesale prices rose 8.58 percent in October from a year earlier compared with 8.62 percent in September, data on Monday showed. The figure compared with a Reuters poll forecast for an 8.44 percent rise.
Food inflation slowed to 14.1 percent in October compared with 15.7 percent a month earlier as supplies improved after healthy monsoon rains, helping bring down overall inflation.
The data, coming on the heels of the slowest annual growth in industrial output in 16 months, lends support to those who advocate a pause in the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) tightening, although others say further rate increases are needed.